Wesmen can’t sustain solid start as Pandas prevail

The Winnipeg Wesmen will have to wait at least another day before they snap an unsightly streak.

Lauryn Tremblay had 20 kills and hit .386 and the Alberta Pandas fought off a first-set loss to come back and beat the Wesmen women’s volleyball team 3-1 (19-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-21) in a Canada West conference match Friday night at the Duckworth Centre. 

The win marked the 14th straight victory for the Pandas over Winnipeg going back to November 2013.

But the Wesmen looked the part of the upset-ready in the first set, putting the Pandas in trouble with tough serving that led to six first-set service aces, three from Ashleigh Laube and two from Selva Planincic. Laube would finish with four on the night and Planincic three. 

The Pandas evened the match with a Set 2 win and sunk the Wesmen with a rally in the third. Trailing 23-19, the Pandas came out of their own timeout and ran off six straight points to turn the tables entirely.

Emma Parker led the Wesmen with 15 kills and 13 digs, while Laube added 12 and 12, and Planincic 11 and seven. Libero Taylor Cangemi had a team-high 14 digs. 

Alberta also got 13 kills from Laila Johnston and a match-high 20 digs from libero Jenae Eisler. 

Alberta hit .293 for the match and held Winnipeg to .208, the first time this conference season a team has hit better than .200 against the Pandas.

The teams meet again Saturday with first serve set for 6:45 p.m. Tickets are available online now.